I'm a big fan of "boss fights" where the boss doesn't have 15 different abilities. I can imagine the PCs racing away from one or three of these guys in order to cross a bridge or get within range of a trebuchet. Especially when they can move through a fortification like a chainsaw through chicken soup. Or fighting to open a dam before X is destroyed.

Though, they are scary powerful, the water- and forest-weaknesses mean that the PCs don't have much room for creativity if they want to destroy one. And the weak-trees-business feels a bit arbitrary.

Why were they fighting over the corpse of the duke? Did he have jellybeans in his pockets? And it roars, too. They seem to react like they have emotions, even if they don't. I imagine them like terromantic janitors, who sigh and grit their teeth they witness littering. Or, god forbid, someone CUTTING ROCKS into bricks and then STACKING THEM. That definitely counts as an impurity. Go to Comment

I love bottom-of-the-ocean things. I really like the idea that they literally never have to leave their homes, thus allowing them to be the ultimate xenophobes. They wouldn't even open the door if their sibling was outside asking for help. The internet and wireless golems are another masterful touch.

What were they doing before they constructed the Langarshuu? Could other species use the Langarshuu? I’m assuming they have some form of population control (unless they are dying out), so how do they pick their mates? There must be some way to tell the more desirable Usholal from the less.

The biggest problem though, I think, is how to integrate the Usholal into a game that is already centered on the Brave People and the Cauda.

Would they ever invade the surface world? I can imagine them setting up a terrestrial mining camp entirely built and staffed by automata. It would cause great alarm and confusion to see what appears to be intelligent golems constructing each other.

People who are paranoid about the outside world usually strive to be informed about it, just so they can condemn it for being wicked/dangerous. Shouldn’t they have a source of news about the outside world? Either something factual like CNN or something ignorant like the National Enquirer? I imagine them being either very well informed or sadly delusional. Only one of these involves sypbots.

What do they do for fun? There are entire industries in America that only work to entertain us. And the Usholal seem like they have more free time than we do. Philosophy? Beat Poetry? Lagarshuu Starcraft ? Automata sports? Battlebots comes to mind. So does “I bet my automaton can steal more fish from the Brave People than yours can.”

How far does the Lagarshuu extend? Miles? The planet? The universe? If the network has to be supported by pylons or relay stations along its length, parts of it might need to go near or across land, something that could bring them into conflict with other races.

Also, most fish are found on the surface, near land. I can imagine the Emperor Whale-size automata going on week-long fishing cruises and returning with a bellyful of fish. That could also bring them into contact with the surface folk.

Keep posting more from this aquatic Tarrod setting, Maggot. It gets me wet.Go to Comment

Now this is awesome. It's very well fleshed out and answers all the immediate questions about JWI. It manages to stay interesting despite unsexy phrases like "industry leader". I'd like to see more posts that cover the suppliers or subdivisions (since JWI seems like more backdroppy than foregroundy, if that makes any sense). Have there been no scandals? Go to Comment

This has the potential to be an extremely dangerous piece of paper, and I wouldn't spring it on the PCs without some sort of warning.

A PC who started reading the pamphlet would quickly start making Will saves of increasing difficulty, with failures causing a morale penalty. After losing 5 or so, the PC should become suicidal. Even after the PC finishes reading it, they continue making Will saves as long as they think about it. If they want to stop thinking about it and put it out of their head, this requires another Will save, and even then, their mind might wander back to it at some later point. Magical means might be necessary to make them forget it completely.

I really think that contents of The True Nature are best left undescribed--most people have their own ideas about what the most depressing thing is. If you insist, though, you could sprinkle in nihilist creeds, "God is Dead" quotes, or the depressing parts of determinism.

It really is just words on a paper. A poem can invoke emotion. This one can evoke a LOT of emotion.

I don't have a specific force that inspired Avool. I agree, though, that SOMETHING should be behind it. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Go to Comment

@Echo: Good point. The PCs could also get in on the Vega-impersonation if they were so inclined.

In my campaign, veglins were actually introduced immediately after Vega had been killed, and the whole world was celebrating. The PCs were not very involved with the killing of Vega, but even they took notice when they ran into strange goblins stealing alchemical ingredients and claiming that Vega had been commanding them to do so in their dreams. Plus, after they had unveiled the veglin threat, a lot of the common folk revered them in much the same way as Hactor, simply because they had overcome a related (if much smaller) threat. Go to Comment

Inverse of Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently characterized magic is indistinguishable from technology.

I actually like the blurry palette of magic-technology that Teleleli seems to need. Why not have robo-golems that are programmed by magic? Or have the diving suits be non-magical products of a highly magical production? Anyway, if I was a PC, the first thing I would do is make a sword from more than one kind of tooth. Fate isn't going to tempt itself.

Good stuff! It's interesting because the seven kinds of flame seem to occupy a strange middle ground between the arcane and the clerical. Can you start mundane fires with the exotic types? And if so, is a forest fire started with demonfire any different than one started with radiant flame? Go to Comment